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Morton National Park
Scenic waterfalls, gorges and sandstone plateau are the most impressive features of this large and popular national park. The great variation in landform within the park provides habitats for a wide range of animals including grey kangaroos, swamp wallabies, snakes, lizards and a particularly varied bird life. Rare animal species: eastern bridle birds, ground parrots, brush tailed rock wallabies and tiger quolls. Rare plants: Ettrema mallee, Budawang ash, Pigeon house ash.
Kangaroo ValleyHuman occupation of the KV region reaches back to near 1000 years. Aboriginal use and occupation of the area has been well documented. Located some 200 m above sea level, with its adjacent escarpment areas rising to an elevation of over 600 m. The history of European involvement dates back to 1770, and the arrival of James Cook. On his voyage northwards, he noted an apparent bay (Seven Mile Beach) and named it the inner head Longnose point (today Black Head). It was later left to George Bass to explore and report on the land around the Shoalhaven River in 1797. The village of KV established on its present day site around 1861, after the valley had gone through a boom period which saw its population increase rapidly. Today, dairy farming and tourism make a significant contribution to the area's economy. Nestled between Cambewarra and Barrengarry Mountains. Other mountains surrounding the valley, such as Kangaroo Mtn and Broughton Head, are of volcanic origin. Bridge constructed in 1898. "the Valley", a local reverend declared in 1840, "takes its name from the kangaroos which formerly abounded here". The Wodi Wodi people were also in the valley, along with the kangaroos they hunted, but are no longer to be seen. Hampden Bridge resembles a turreted medieval castle
Macquarie PassThis park protects a section of the Illawarra Escarpment consisting of impressive cliffs, steep, densely timbered ridges and rainforest gullies. Some of the country's most southerly subtropical rainforests grow on this park's rugged sandstone escarpment.
HuskissonThe gateway town to Jervis Bay, with one of the prettiest harbours on the coast. In the 19:th century, famous as a shipbuilding centre.
Hyams BeachSurrounded by national parks, featuring a two-kilometre crescent of “the whitest sand in the world” which is beyond comparison.
BoodereeFormerly known as Jervis Bay, it was renamed by the Federal Government in 1998. Aboriginal word meaning "bay of plenty" or "plenty of fish"4, was the new name given by the people of the Wreck Bay Community following the handback of the area to the Aboriginal traditional owners in 1995. The community and the Commonwealth Government, through the Director of National Parks, now jointly manage the area. 6000 ha of outstanding natural beauty. Highlights include Green Patch, a favourite picnic spot with hundreds of brilliantly coloured Rosellas and Lorikeets, and many kangaroos. Booderee National park is the sacred heart of Jervis Bay, with the aboriginal community of Wreck Bay. As with the land, the waters of the park are an essential part of the spiritual and traditional life of these people. Although administrated by Canberra, JB Territory is a territory in its own right. Today the park attracts nearly a million visitors a year.
Kiama BlowholeFirst recorded reference to the district was by George Bass who anchored his 28ft whaleboat in the sheltered bay (now known as Kiama Harbour) in Dec. 1797. Blowhole discovered by the same man, on the 6:th of dec, as he referred to the "tremendous noise" from his "subterraneous passage." In January 1889 a performer by the name of Charles Jackson attracted large crowds to see his crossings of the mouth of the Blow Hole on a tightrope. There is no doubt that when the local aboriginals gave Kiama its name (meaning "where the sea makes a noise"), they were referring to the powerful and famous blowholes on the rocky shores of this coastal town. At their best, both blowholes perform impressively
Botany BayStraddling the two headlands at the entrance to Botany Bay, this national park has a unique combination of natural and cultural heritage features. It's the site of first contact between Aboriginal people and the crew of James Cook's Endeavour in 1770. It's also the place where the Comte de Laperouse, France's famous explorer, arrived within a week of the British First Fleet in 1788. Botany Bay is the place where Lieutenant James Cook landed in April 1770 -- there never was a Captain Cook on the Australian mainland, though he was a captain when he later visited Tasmania and New Zealand -- with his friends and crew on board the barque Endeavour. Two of his companions, Daniel Solander and Joseph Banks, were botanists, and they were entranced by the number of flowers blooming in what the calendar said was our late autumn. But while they were very good at collecting and identifying plants, the two were less effective in identifying good farming land.
Berry"The town of trees" is nestled beneath the rolling hills; the township has a character and charm that it has retained from its early days. There are various buildings with National Trust classifications and the market days on the first Sunday of every month bring people from all over the state. Named in honour of Alexander Berry, Shoalhaven's first European settler. There was tall timber here once, as there was in many parts of the South Coast, but during the 19th century it was cut down and used to build housing in the expanding city of Sydney.
Jervis Bay..is renowned as having the cleanest and some of the clearest water of anywhere around Australia. It is used by many advertising agencies to film underwater sequences when making television commercials. Scuba Diving has really taken off in Jervis Bay, and would have to be one of the most popular sites in the southern hemisphere. Crystal clear waters, sweeping white beaches, magnificent national parks, dramatic, diverse and unspoilt scenery, and an abundant wildlife.. Jervis Bay is certainly a special place! With the deepest sheltered harbour (27 metres) and the cleanest water in Australia, the whitest sand in the world, its rocky platforms and reefs, underwater caves and amazingly colourful and spectacular marine life.. it is not only an ideal place for snorkelling and diving, but also one of the most fascinating areas in the world to explore. It is the permanent residence for a pod of 60 playful dolphins, the home of several mobs of friendly, wild kangaroos, brilliantly colourful birds, penguins, seals and whales.. all weaved together creating an untouched paradise..
There are many middens and rock shelters indicating Aboriginal presence in the area for at least 20 000 years. Given that the Bay is thought to have been formed only 11 000 years ago, after the last ice age, it is most likely that the Aborigines have been there from the beginning. The Bay became "Jervis Bay" in 1791 when Lieutenant Richard Bowen named it Port Jervis after naval officer and, later, admiral of the British fleet, Sir John Jervis under whom Bowen had served. Unlike other bays along the coast which are drowned river valleys Jervis Bay was formed when a broad downward fold in the earth's crust was flooded by rising seas following the last ice age.
Jervis Bay is known for its high water clarity. This is due to the following factors:
no major rivers flow into the Bay so very little sediment or other river-borne material is deposited; the entrance is flanked by rocky coast with no beaches of any size and the cliffs plunge straight into deep water for most of their length; no heavy industry is present in the Bay; and a moderate degree of urban development means there is limited sewerage discharge. The Nan Tien TempleLocated in a quiet, peaceful environment overlooking Mt Keira and Mt Kembla, the "paradise of the south" is not only a popular venue for both international and local visitors.. but also an important centre bridging different cultures. Worth mentioning, off course, is that it is the largest Buddhist temple in the southern hemisphere.
Fitzroy fallsMagnificent waterfall, plunging 81.5 metres over a sandstone plateau into the Yarrunga Valley. Where the waters of the Yarrunga creek tumble down the escarpment to meet the Shoalhaven River.
Although long known to the aborigines, who passed by it on their migrations from the coast to the Highlands, the falls were 'discovered' in the 1820s by Charles Throsby, pioneer settler of Bong Bong, whose property extended as far as the falls itself. Its spectacular beauty made it a favourite place for the Throsbys to bring their many guests on picnics. One of these, NSW Governor Fitzroy, visited in 1850 and in typically modest manner named the falls after himself. Twelve years later, when the area was surveyed, they were still referred to as 'Throsby's waterfall', but the name Fitzroy was to win out.
The falls lie in the path of the Yarrunga Creek, which drops over 80 metres down the escarpment, and flows on into the Kangaroo River. The water flow is not as massive, nor as irregular, as in the past due to a water catchment dam further upstream today. Although the view from the Falls shows steep cliffs descending to the valley floor, there is a pathway leading down from the Highlands, first shown to the explorer Charles Throsby by local aborigines in 1818. Throsby, however, did not mention having seen the falls at that time. At the foot of this pathway (closely approximating the current highway) is the beautiful Kangaroo Valley. By the time the Falls were named (by Governor Fitzroy, on a visit to Throsby's property in 1850), they were already well known to other visitors, the Throsby family often taking their visitors there to picnic and admire the scenery. A town was planned in 1862 by Surveyor Robert Hoddle, but little settlement followed. In 1882 some 4000 acres around the falls were set aside as a reserve, by which time it was already popular as a local sightseeing attraction. Fitzroy Falls has always remained a small village, with only several dozen houses and surrounding farmland. (The current population - some few hundreds, is included in census statistics for the Avoca/Myra Vale area.
Bowen IslandOpposite Governors Head is 51 ha of heath, woodland and tussock shrub land. The area is populated with shearwaters, little penguins and their burrows. There are sites of archaeological importance including shell and bone middens and rock shelters. On the north of the island are WWII gun emplacement sites facing out to sea, mounting for heavy guns, lookout posts and underground complexes for barracks and magazine stores.
BowralHome of the Bradman Museum where you can relive the glories of Australian cricket and follow Sir Donald Bradman's footsteps as he grew up in Bowral and went on to become a cricketing legend.
The southern highlandsIf any part of New South Wales resembles the country after which it was named, it's the Southern Highlands. Here the grass is greener, the air cooler and the countryside more prettily delicate than in the rest of the state. Tulips bloom in the spring, trees blaze russet in autumn, and sleek cattle graze on lush emerald slopes. Situated 128 kilometres south of Sydney, the Southern Highlands stretch across a spur of the Great Dividing Range, from Mittagong in the north to Fitzroy Falls in the south. From Sydney, the most scenic route to the Southern Highlands is the steep and winding ascent over the misty Macquarie Pass.
The first Southern Highlands township you come to is Robertson, a quaint corner of old Australia, perched high on a hilltop with panoramic views to the coast. Stop for Devonshire tea in front of a log fire at Ranelagh House, a rambling old manor house where you can absorb the character of this unique area. Close to Robertson are some of the most attractive waterfalls in New South Wales - the Fitzroy, Carrington, and Belmore Falls.
Nearby is the quaint hamlet of Burrawang whose main street is lined with wooden cottages. The 127-year-old general store is a treasure-trove of old jars and potions. The owner makes his deliveries in a horse and sulky.
From Burrawang you get good views over Wingecarribee Dam and the Fitzroy Falls Reservoir. The main towns of the Southern Highlands are Mittagong, Moss Vale and Bowral. Bowral became a retreat for affluent Sydney folk in the late 1880s, many of whom built grand mansions here with magnificent gardens, like Milton Park which is now a luxurious hotel. Bowral nestles under Mt Gibraltar, the highest peak in the Highlands. This is a very appealing resort, especially in October, during the Tulip Festival, when Corbett Gardens blaze with colour. The showcase of the Southern Highlands is Berrima. The whole township has been listed by the National Trust and its main street, with colonial buildings clustered around a village green, is like a picturebook illustration of early Australia. Despite a profusion of craft shops and tearooms, Berrima retains the flavour of bygone days. Its impressive colonnaded courthouse was designed by Mortimer Lewis. Inside, the cells and courtroom exhibit startlingly realistic scenes with life-sized mannequins, while an interesting film explains the history of the region. The Surveyor-General Inn is the oldest continually licensed hotel in Australia. Other historic buildings include forbidding Maitland Gaol, Harpers Mansion, Brian McMahon's Pub, Victoria Inn, the Barn Gallery and the Old Bakery.
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